The Winner's Sales Strategy Blog

Are you screwing up your appointments like this?

I've always been a violent opponent of PowerPoint presentations, flipcharts, brochures, and all that good stuff in sales appointments. Nigel Edelshain made a great post to his blog today that explains why:

Go To Your Next Sales Meeting Empty Handed

Time-sensitive information, please read asap

This is the most exciting blog post I've ever made. Seriously. It's been over a year in the making, and after plenty of delays, setbacks, and everything else that happens to slow down a major announcement like this, the day is finally getting near. The big day is Tuesday, October 17th, at 10 am Eastern time.

For what, you ask? Well, I can't tell you just yet ... you'll have to wait for the the big day, three weeks from today. However, since this event will be limited to only a small number of people, here's how you can get in on the excitement a day early -

http://www.nevercoldcall.com/announce

When you join the VIP pre-launch on that page, you'll be certain to get in on this exciting announcement a day early - Monday, October 16th.

So, you're still wondering just what the big event is? I can't tell you that, not until launch day (or one day before if you make it onto the VIP pre-launch list in time). For now, I'll give you some clues:

1. It's something my readers have been requesting practically forever, but I just haven't had the time and resources to make it happen ... until now. And I'm thrilled to finally give it to you.

2. Only a small number of people will be able to get in on this. The exact number hasn't been determined, but it will be in the hundreds. To put that in perspective, over 60,000 people receive my newsletter and will have a chance to get in on it on launch day. Which is why it's so very important
for you to get on the VIP pre-launch list, right now -

http://www.nevercoldcall.com/announce

(I'm going to keep that list very small and close it shortly, so go sign up now.)

3. Even though I'm the mastermind behind this, and the unknown that will be unveiled to you next month is the product of my time and work, several other bestselling authors and sales gurus will be participating and you'll benefit from their wisdom and knowledge as well.

4. No, this is not a new book from me. I only wish I had the time to write another one that soon! You can't imagine what my schedule is like these days. (And no, I'm not promoting someone else's product or event. This is my own brainchild. My finest work.)

5. This isn't a seminar, either. (I know, now you're really confused.)

Wow ... simply sitting down to finally write this e-mail is overwhelming! It's been so long in the making!! I can barely contain myself and would love to just tell you, right now, but since the date is already set and we're planning for that date, I have to contain my excitement until then.

Remember, we'll only have room for maybe 2% of the people receiving this e-mail, at the most, so do yourself a favor and get on the VIP pre-launch list right now:

http://www.nevercoldcall.com/announce

That's where you'll receive updates from me over the next three weeks leading up to the final announcement. And, of course, you'll be able to get in a day early as a member of that private list.

Thank you for your ongoing support and for making this possible. I'm thrilled to finally fulfill the wishes of so many of you, and to bring this to you after such a long period of planning and working many long
hours on it.

Sincerely,
Frank Rumbauskas

Increase Your Mental Abilities, and your Sales!

I'll make this short and to the point: I recently came across a brand new website that reveals the secret tool you need to have to increase your mental abilities, IQ and mental focus. And, most importantly, your sales.

If you have ever wished that you could be smarter without having to study, I urge you to check this site out today!

Here's the link:

--> Click Here <---

Inside, you'll discover how to do all of the following quickly and easily:

- Enhance memory capability
- Boost mental absorbency
- Grow intellectual stamina
- Strengthen thought power
- Sharpen mental acuity
- Accelerate overall intelligence
- Enhance your learning abilities
- Learn to concentrate better
- Enhance your brain energy
- Improve your mood
- Enhance your ability to focus
- Enhance your mental alertness
- And much, much more!

I highly recommend you check it out right away:

--> Click Here Now <---

I have, and it's already done wonders for me! This should be a must-have in every salesperson's toolkit.

Is marketing spam? No.

I read an article today by another self-proclaimed sales coach about cold calling vs. other forms of prospecting. His bloviated opinion is that every form of marketing is a form of "spam" and therefore is even worse than cold calling, since spam annoys people.

This faulty argument is right up there with the idea that marketing and cold calling are the same. To call marketing "spam" is quite ridiculous - do you feel spammed every time you see a television commercial? Hear a radio ad? See an ad on Yahoo's homepage? I sure don't. It's all just a normal part of living in today's world. In fact, about the only things that really bother me are cold calls and telemarketing calls. THOSE are annoying. Even spam email and junk faxes don't get to me since it only takes a fraction of a second to get rid of both with click of the 'delete' key. As far as I'm concerned, those people who go filing lawsuits over junk faxes are losers who could be successful if they only did something constructive with their time.

(If you are aggravated by the usual commercials and ads, remember, decaffeinated coffee tastes just as good as the real thing. Switching may calm you down a bit.)

To argue that all marketing is spam and that we should therefore eliminate marketing along with cold calling is to argue that all business should stop! How ridiculous. By the way, in case you're wondering what he does propose to generate business, it is the old-school insurance sales routine of making a list of 100 people you know and calling them all. (Which, after all, is cold calling your friends, which I consider worse than cold calling strangers. I have an ethical dilemma with that. It's why so many Amway distributors wind up in the NFL club - "no friends left.")

In today's world, marketing - particularly permission marketing - is it. To think otherwise is to position yourself to be one of the 9 out of 10 who fail.

"Your stuff won't work for me" (or, defending the status quo)

Another gem from Seth's blog - I love this one because I've heard each and every one of these excuses, many times, regarding my Never Cold Call approach!

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2006/09/top_ways_to_def.html

Do you 'Do-Not-Call'?

I've gotten so fed up with all the telemarketing calls I receive on my cell phone that I've begun to report each and every one on the complaint form at donotcall.gov, the official Do-Not-Call List website. Telemarketing calls to my cell phone are doubly infurating since it's already illegal to make a telemarketing call to a cell phone, and even more so when that number is on the Do-Not-Call List.

I'm wondering how many other people have reached this level of frustration and are reporting calls to Do-Not-Call (assuming your number is registered with the list). Please leave your comments and let me know.

Frank

Job interviews - a waste of time?

I found an interesting post today on my favorite blog, Seth Godin's. He says that job interviews are a waste of time; after all, would you marry someone based on a one-hour interview? Of course not.

His words hit home with me because my worst, most nightmarish sales jobs were the ones with the most promising interviews. My future manager seemed like the greatest guy in the world, and he promised the world, too - I'd be on my own, free to sell as I saw fit, with none of the cold calling or blitz stupidity.

Then, after I'd accepted the job and it was time to report to work, hell began. 50 calls a day. Mandatory cold call blitzes. Weekly funnel reviews. Micro-management.

I think Seth is right ... here's the full text of his post (it's long but good - read it):

Seth Godin on job interviews

We're going International!

I received word from my publisher this past week that my New York Times bestseller, Never Cold Call Again: Achieve Sales Greatness Without Cold Calling, is being translated into the Indonesian language for sale in that country!

Thank you again to all of my loyal readers for your ongoing support that has made this possible. Hopefully it's only the first of many overseas editions!